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Interview:Gordon Muir Campbell, OBC – Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

I am proud the Canadian High Commission is moving back to Canada House on Trafalgar Square. At a time when many embassies are looking to move further out, we are moving back to the heart of London. In making this move we are playing our part in the renaissance of the heart of London. Canada House will benefit from the transformation of Leicester Square.

In creating a new Canada House for the 21st Century, we have attempted to create a place that reflects the area around it, a vital, exciting and design-led environment that complements the best of London. Crucially, the interior of the new High Commission will be a showcase for all things Canadian. We will have a gallery for Canadian artists, the design and construction is all Canadian and there are artefacts that reflect Canadian life through recent history.

“All of us at the High Commission are proud to see Canada House move back to its natural and traditional home right in the centre of the world’s greatest city.”

When I look at Canada’s relationship with Britain, I see it as best friends with deep cultural roots and shared experiences through crucial times in our history – notably the two World Wars. Having the new Canada House as an articulation of that closeness is critical to all Canadians. In addition to the history, the reality of today’s London is that of the most exciting city on earth – we are very lucky that we will have a wonderful terrace on the top of Canada House that gives us views over Westminster and the West End of London, all at a human scale that’s very rare for a North American.

For a diplomat, a London posting is the ultimate role. All of us at the High Commission are proud to see Canada House move back to its natural and traditional home right in the centre of the world’s greatest city.